"It's been a long while, Reva. Forgive this old man for not being there for you when you needed me the most," Elor said with a doleful expression as he lowered his head in shame and guilt, making Reva feel an inexplicable sense of sadness within her heart even though she had never seen this man before.
In fact, she thought he was dead since her grandmother told her the same. All she told her was that her grandfather died early due to his foolishness and didn't mention anything anymore. In fact, whenever her grandmother talked about him, she would become angry yet feel the pain in her voice.
Reva parted and closed her lips a few times before finally saying, "But I…I thought my grandfather was dead. That is what my grandmother told me. So…h-how is this possible?" Reva asked with a perplexed expression as she shot a glance towards Damien as well.
Elor wanted to explain everything and express the regret and guilt he had been bottling up but was unable to find his voice.
Damien sighed, seeing that Elor was in an emotional state, and decided to explain on his behalf as he clasped Reva's soft hand and said, "He once rebelled against Yohr and ended up almost dying if it were not for your grandmother begging for mercy. Yohr took advantage of the situation, crippled him, and told him to leave the Forsaken and never make contact with anyone in the Forsaken ever again. He even declared that your grandfather is no longer a Zirian. Because of this, nobody talked about him and considered him to be dead, just like how your grandmother must have said to you. Still, she was secretly taking care of him here, in this hidden island."
"There was not a single day where I didn't think about your mother or you. The day I learned about your mother's death, I felt like killing myself for being an unworthy and useless father," Elor said with his eyes squeezed shut, feeling an intense amount of pain again just by thinking about it.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"But I decided to hold on for you since the least I should do is try to find a way to protect my granddaughter after failing my daughter," Elor added in a heavy-hearted tone, making Reva pinch her lips together, feeling a tightening sensation in her chest after seeing how depressed and sad he was.
Even if she didn't interact with her grandfather before, she could feel the warm boundless affection he had for her and the painful guilt and regret written all over his face for being unable to protect her.
"Still, even after holding on, I failed as you spent your entire childhood and adolescent years in that fancy prison, being forced to stay in the same place with the man who killed your mother…"
Reva's cold azure eyes began to well up as she remembered about her days before falling in love with Damien…the days where she was living a cold, colorless life filled with nothing but pain and sadness.
"I…I am really sorry, Reva…I can understand if you are angry at me or hate me, but I wish I could really go back in time…" Elor broke down as he bent his head and touched the mattress beside Reva, who felt a stabbing sensation in her chest seeing her grandfather like this. Even Damien couldn't help but pray that this old man finds some peace after suffering for all these centuries alone.
"Grandfather…please don't do this…" Reva said in a fragile voice as her lips quivered, tears rolling down her cheeks, feeling happy to have reunited with a dear family member whom she thought was dead yet sad to see how pitiful his state was. She could only imagine how much despair and despondent he must have felt after being forced to stay on this island all alone without having the luxury to go outside.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})She could feel the guilt and regret he had for not being there for her and her mother. But instead of feeling angry, she sympathized with him as she said while gently helping him sit up, "Grandfather…I am not angry with you. I know it was not your fault…and that you would have done everything to save us if you could. But I am glad that you held on…otherwise, I would have never seen you like this," Reva wanted to express to him that he did the right thing by not killing himself and that he shouldn't beat himself up for something that was out of his control.
After all, being played like puppets in the hands of a god was not something mortals could blame themselves.
Elor gave a soft smile with his dry lips pressed together, feeling relieved and happy that his granddaughter was even more understanding than he thought.
Reva saw how surprised her grandfather was to know that she didn't resent him and said with a low sigh, "All these years I carried the regret of not spending more time with my mother, and only recently I realized that I was about to feel a similar regret of not spending enough time with my grandmother when I saw her losing her life almost in the battle that took place today. Now that I found you, grandfather, I don't want to waste time being angry or hating you for something that was out of your hands. I never again want to feel the regret of not enjoying the time I have with my family…" As she said, a beautiful smile hung on her lips as she held Damien's hand and looked at him as well.
"You are just like your mother…" Elor said with a happy yet complicated smile as he wiped the tears off his cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed for crying before his granddaughter like that. As someone who had once been the leader of the Zirians, he didn't want to show his weak side to his granddaughter.
"Well, I will let you two catch up while I go and see if there is anything tasty to eat or drink outside," Damien said as he decided to give these two time to reminisce things while Reva could learn more about her mother and also the things Elor had told him.
